The NCNW is a non-profit organization founded in 1935 by Mary McLeod Bethune, and Kean received its own chapter in the spring 2018 semester. The council advances and works to generate opportunities for women of color, their families and their communities.

“Our mission statement would be to provide resources and advocate for and empower women of color or African descent and their families,” said NCNW First Vice President Tierra Hooker.

According to Hooker, the group was inspired to organize this event both in light of the time of the year and given the opportunity to collaborate with Embracing the Crown, an organization founded in 2014 that dedicates itself to elevating and uniting women of color by creating networks of support and giving women a platform to share their experiences.

“March is Women’s History Month and Embracing the Crown is a women empowerment organization that travels country-wide to universities to embrace women,” Hooker said.

This specific workshop, titled “I Am: The Power of Words,” is a part of Embracing the Crown’s larger #CollegeWorkshopTour, which takes place annually in partnership with schools and universities such as Kean.

“The workshop is more open discussion. There are a few break out activities and then interpersonal breakouts,” Hooker said.

One focus of the workshop will be the topic of mental health, which both the NCNW and Embracing the Crown believe is especially important to address within the college demographic.

“We’re at the age when a lot of mental health issues arise in America. In college, we have a lot of stressors and pressure to rise over the stigma on education,” Hooker said. “So while we’re doing that, we tend to lose focus on our mental health. As women, and specifically women of color, we try to quiet our feelings sometimes just to overcome that education stigma. We have to focus on making sure that our well-being is okay in order to do that and achieve that.”

Zoe Strozewski is a sophomore majoring in communications with a focus on journalism. She joined The Cougar's Byte as a staff writer in February 2018. In her free time she enjoys reading, writing, listening to music and playing for Kean's women's volleyball team. In the future, she hopes to spend her days reporting on politics, music, and social issues as a writer for The New Yorker or Rolling Stone.